The Creature of the Woods (BxB)

Chapter 4: The Spell

The Quezon Province Police station is a newly built building that came from the "generous hands of the government", as the Superintended likes to put it in sarcasm. It's not a gift when it actually came from our taxes. It should be their job, not their so-called generosity.

But the facility is not that bad compared to the other stations of this country. Its 2031, the new administration is working hard to clean this country to pass the international standards. The internet has become fast too, so here I am abusing it by searching about the enchanted beings. I did not press on asking Geddy. It may be a sensitive subject for him, and his knowledge might be biased. Because as far as I know, he hates them.

So far, I searched nothing. Just random folklores and shitty teenage sightings that does not even match the descriptions.

I gave up and just went on doodling. It was a free time anyway. The case of the kidnapped girls have been solved (thanks to us) and the girls are found near a shipping line that could have smuggled them abroad.

From my desk, I could see the beautiful and curvy silhouette of Officer Luisa Fina against the open doorway. She was getting two cups of coffee. Her nice butt is being perfectly hugged by her slacks and her curly hair falls down at the small of her back in a swift and soft wave. She's strong, smart, intelligent, and caring. She's like a mother and sister of this station, and sometimes, a loyal brother. She's so perfect, but somehow, I fell out of love with her.

Maybe, it's because of the spell. What a waste, she's really pretty while I'm here, being gay and all.

"Pssst." A guy called from behind. "Drooling over her again, huh?"

"Shut up, Felix." I whisper-yelled as I continue doodling my random thoughts.

"What a cute doodle." A high accented voice said. It was Luisa.

Normally, I would stutter and my eyes would be wider than a marble, but now, I just see a beautiful lady that I admire because of her strength. "Well, it's not that great, it's just a ... just a..." A man in brown robe under a Balete tree. Was I thinking of him the entire time? "It's nothing. Just a character I saw from a movie."

"Ow?" Luisa's eyes was not as bright as when she approached my desk. Maybe I bored her? "I'm so glad that you're not stuttering anymore." She said with an awkward laugh and moved away.

"Huh?" Wait. What was that about? Let me think about this through deductive thinking...

... did she eat her breakfast?

I just sighed and continued doodling the man. As I get my pen somewhere, I noticed a cup of coffee at my desk with a smiley sticky note.

Gods, she liked me back.

Despite of Geddy's warnings, I escaped the Police station and went to the forest. Besides, in case of emergency, I used the Police car with a GPS in it. I brought some food, a rose, and a bag of ginger powder. Love does not mean trust all the time, you know.

I approached the Balete tree and breathed the nice air surrounding it. It's not just to him that I fell in-love, I guess it's also with his environment, his tree, his air, his everything. The feelings send tickles down my spine that draws a smile to my face.

I saw a shuffle behind the tree. With the feeling that it was him, I went to it and saw a little bunny. The bunny has brown spots concentrated on its back and the rest is white. Its eyes are pure black, just like his. I followed the bunny, which is now running around the tree. Another turn and I realized that I lost the bunny. When I looked around, I saw the bunny up the tree. It jumps down towards me and some realizations later, I feel like the bunny is actually going to attack me. It hit my head, jumped on my shoulders, on my hip, then took something from my pocket.

The bag of ginger powder.

In pursuit of catching the bunny, I lost my balance with the little tilt of the ground and I fell down on a rabbit hole. It hurts my head for a while, but as the hurt calms down, I sat up to my butt and saw the creature looking at me.

Right. Look at me funny.

"I don't know your motive, but I hope it was not to exorcise me." He started. That deep baritone of voice again. But wait, he trapped me in his tree, which looks like a cottage from the inside. What if he plans something unwell? "About the bag of ginger powder?" He continued.

"Ow, that. I ha ha." I slowly stood up from my awkward position to turn around the cottage. There was a small window that oversees a dark city with faint lights that you could count in one hand. There was also a door that obviously does not lead to the place where I came from. There was a cupboard, a small tea table, and a mini-kitchen. But the furniture that takes most of the space is his bed, draped by hundreds of warm and comfortable-looking cot. He's sitting on it as he watches me walk around his house.

"I'm sorry for invading your house." I said in a small voice. "Here, I have food. And, and a flower. It doesn't grow around here so I thought you might like it."

I placed all the things on his tea table and sat on a chair far from it. He stood up quietly with awe sketched on his face. "I made sure the food has no ginger or salt. Just sweets. It's cake." He took the rose from the table and observed it. It was an unusual kind of observation. He simply looked at it and frowned.

"Y-you don't like it?" please don't kill me.

"You don't have to pick an innocent plant from the ground just to give it to me."

Ow. He's a plant person. With all the trees and natures and stuff. Maybe giving flowers to him is like giving meat to a vegan. I did not think about that.

"I'm sorry." I said, looking at the floor in shame. He smiled and approached me, putting his grey fingers on my chin to raise my vision to him.

"I was not angry." He walked away towards the door. I followed suit and saw him on the ground planting the rose. I was about to tell him that it would not work, but then, the flower bloomed with light budding from inside. It's beautiful. I've never seen a rose bloom like that before. I guess the black soil here is magical.

"It's beautiful." He said. He continued staring at it with a pleasant smile. Then he frowned again with sad eyes that could almost cry. He stopped it before he thought I could notice it. Little did he know that I really noticed it. But I wonder why. "You came here to break the spell, right?"

"Yes." I said sadly.

"Don't be sad. It's just the spell twisting your mind to such emotions. They are not that important."

He took something from his cupboard. A dark-brown vial that almost looked like dried blood. He took his tea cup out from his kitchen and began making a sweet smelling tea. I waited patiently, swinging my feet above his poorly polished floor. Man, this cottage is small and nice, but it needs a cleaning. Maybe I could come by here to clean sometimes.

Ow, right. I cannot.

But maybe we could still stay as friends? That's possible, right?

"I have something to tell you." He said as he reaches the tea cup to me. "There is no said cure about the love spell. Nothing that I know of. And our only solution is for you to forget me, forget everything, and forget my tree."

"W-what?" Emotions are running wild inside me. Maybe this could cure the spell, but does it has to be like this. I actually want to become his friend. I want to come here often and give him different kinds of flowers. I want to clean his house sometimes. Maybe take time for a cup of tea. Sleep on his draperies, or maybe, fall in love with him for real.

He reaches for my wet cheeks that I was unaware of. He does not look sad, just plain and stoic like the first time we've seen each other. Maybe it's true, this mistake is just a nuisance for him and he does not actually need me around. I'm a nuisance. I'm a mistake.

I took the cup from his hand and poured all of the contents to my mouth and felt it pass through my throat and warm my stomach. Later on, I feel sleepy. His long arms wrapped around my shoulders as he whispers something I could not comprehend. But in between those words, I heard;

Goodbye, forever.